Last week, we looked at the idea of releasing legal fish to help the overall population maintain a healthy condition. This week, we will discuss releasing fish that we can’t keep due to regulations placed on that species to prevent overfishing.
I am going to guess that the No. 1 released fish in Delaware is the summer flounder. With a 16.5-inch minimum size and a healthy population of 16-inch fish that never seem to grow any larger, we release a lot of summer flounder. One problem with summer flounder is they are not easy to hold. You can’t put your thumb in their mouth because they have lots of sharp teeth, and trying to hold them either by the fins or the side is a slippery proposition.
I have found it best to lay the fish on the deck on top of a towel that has been immersed in seawater. Use another wet towel to hold the fish in place while you remove the hook. I hope you use circle hooks to make this job go much smoother, as the hook should be in the corner of the mouth. Using circle hooks also allows the use of a dehooker. This device is a metal rod with an open circle on one end and a plastic or wood handle on the other. The circle hook is placed in the open loop and the angler holds the line in the other hand. The fish is flipped over the line and the hook pops right out. The fish never comes in contact with the angler.
This only works with small fish like flounder, rockfish, sea bass and croaker. I have a dehooker that must be three feet long and made entirely out of stainless steel. I tried to use it back in the day when I did a lot of shark fishing, but I found it easier on me and the shark if I just cut the leader at the hook.
Releasing large fish can be a problem. It is best not to bring them out of the water, and that includes picture taking. One big problem I see all the time is an angler holding a big fish by the gill covers while his buddy takes a photo. Then the captain reports, “The fish was released.”
It is hard to say how much damage was done to the fish’s gills by that guy’s hand reaching in there. It is safe to say that the fish would have been in better shape if it were photographed in the water. If you just have to take a big fish out of the water, it is easier on the fish if you hold it under the head and the tail. Take a quick photo, and then release it headfirst.
In the overall picture of releasing fish, remember to have a couple of towels soaked in seawater always ready to handle the fish. Buy and learn how to use a dehooker and always use circle hooks when bait fishing. The only exceptions to the last are tog and triggerfish that don’t get the hook far enough into their mouths for a circle hook to be effective.
Fishing report
The current leaders in the Lewes Harbour Marina Tog Tournament are Chris Ragni Jr. in first place with a 5.37-pound tog. In second place is Joe McNeal with a 4.95-pounder, and in third is Fred Robinson and his 4.87-pound tog. The tournament runs until Oct. 31, and you must enter at Lewes Harbour Marina before going fishing.
Tog catching has been good at the Outer Wall and Indian River Inlet, but catching ones large enough to keep has been difficult. The pier at Massey’s Landing has also produced small tog and the occasional flounder.
Sea bass and flounder fishing has been outstanding over ocean structure. Limits of sea bass are common, and while boat limits don’t happen every day, adding a few flounder to the sea bass catch is icing on the cake.
In the surf and inlet, small blues to 18 inches have been caught in good numbers. Cut mullet from the beach and small metal lures from the rocks will take these fish.
The hard-core jetty jockeys who work the night shift have caught keeper rock on live eels. This is hard fishing and requires some sort of creeper on your feet and a good sense of balance. This time of year, a full set of rain gear and a PFD are also required.
Back in the day, when stainless steel was easy to come by, we had creepers made from this material. At one point I bought a stainless steel rod rack and platform from a pipefitter who lived in West Chester and made a good side business using material left over from work.
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Eric Burnley is a Delaware native who has fished and hunted the state from an early age. Since 1978 he has written countless articles about hunting and fishing in Delaware and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast. He has been the regional editor for several publications and was the founding editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman magazine. Eric is the author of three books: Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast, The Ultimate Guide to Striped Bass Fishing and Fishing Saltwater Baits. He and his wife Barbara live near Milton, Delaware. Eric can be reached at Eburnle@aol.com.
